December 16, 2011, 5:14AM

BY ANDY HOOVER In the classic Christmas carol “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” we are reminded that “he sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.” In the near future, jolly old St. Nick might not be the only one who knows when... Full story »

October 21, 2011, 3:00AM

It is disheartening when elected officials ignore their oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. That disappointment is compounded when the media fail in its duty to be a watchdog of our government. In endorsing Gov. Corbett’s taxpayer-funded private school vouchers plan, The Patriot-News (“Corbett’s voucher plan gives students options,” Oct. 12) failed in its duty to hold our... Full story »

June 21, 2011, 12:36AM

This is in answer to Andy Hoover of the ACLU, who wrote on June 8, "Let's educate teens before we prosecute them." His letter states that lawmakers should educate teenagers so they don't make the foolish mistake of sexting. He said that is better than prioritizing prosecution of sexters. They should have been educated long before they became teenagers ---... Full story »

June 08, 2011, 12:00AM

House Bill 815, which proposes to make any teen sexting a criminal offense, was passed by the state House on May 23. H.B. 815 is being promoted as a measure to protect teens from possible exploitation — through arrest, humiliation and saddling children with criminal records. This bill would make it possible for district attorneys to prosecute any teen who... Full story »

August 11, 2010, 5:52AM

While Pennsylvania has not written a same-sex marriage ban into its constitution, we do have a so-called “defense” of Marriage Act, which prohibits recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other states, effectively closing the door to marriage equality. Full story »

February 07, 2010, 1:02PM

Remember adolescence? Raging hormones, awkward moments, embarrassing situations? Everyone remembers those years of sexual development with a bit of angst. It was difficult to navigate then, and it is just as difficult now. Exploring one’s sexual identity during adolescence is normal, and we all stumbled our way through it. But how many of our stumbles resulted in criminal charges?... Full story »

May 03, 2009, 12:00AM

Senate Bill 56, introduced by state Sen. Jeffrey Piccola ("Safe Schools legislation spurs Piccola interest," Letters, April 27), would mandate school administrators call local police in certain situations, leaving the administrators with no discretion to consider the individual circumstances. Children today are more likely to be arrested at school than students of previous generations, despite a lack of evidence of... Full story »